Wednesday, September 28, 2011

2011 September 28

The dovetail plate to attach the Celestron 28-cm SCT to the Celestron CGEM mount arrived from Astronomics this morning. I tried it out in the CGEM's saddle then installed it on the tube with the supplied bolts. I was glad to see that it installed with four bolts, not the three I had thought. With two bolts snugged down on both front and rear cell, it seems very solid, and much better than a Vixen dovetail would have been.

I then went on to Step 1 of the Great Telescope Transformation: removing of the Explore 127-mm triplet apo from the mount, and storing it in its case. Though the case looks very nice, the scope must be in a very specific orientation and configuration to fit in the case, not the same as on the mount at all. I also removed the two 11-pound counterweights. I'm now recuperating before tackling the next steps:

Steps 2 through 5 were accomplished in stages this afternoon. The scope is now riding on its new mount, balanced and ready for the next clear night. The CGEM came with a 17 pound weight and this, along with an 11-pound weight from the Sirius, almost exactly balances the 27.5 pound tube plus finder, dew shield, William focuser and 2" diagonal, and Tele Vue 22mm Nagler eyepiece. If I add camera or binoviewer, I may need an additional counterweight.

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About Me

Born in Montreal QC in 1941, moved to Toronto ON in 1964 with brief sojourns in Santa Barbara CA and Waterloo ON, moved to Coldwater ON in 2005. Married to Louise Gervais in 1985 with one son, David, currently living in Melbourne Australia. My interests have ranged through photography, astronomy, music, anthropology, herpetology, psychotherapy, computers and model trains. Currently I write a weekly article for Space.com and perform regularly on lute and recorder with the early music ensemble, Cassiopeia.